Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

368 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

Messianic promise in the person of Jesus, the Kingdom will only be consummated at his Second Coming, when the full and final manifestation will occur. The Church is both sign and foretaste of the Kingdom present today, who is authorized to proclaim and demonstrate the victory of Christ over Satan and the curse as his agent and deputy. • Draw out the main implications of the Mission as the War of the Spheres motif, including the reassertion of God’s rule today over his universe in Jesus Christ, God as the warrior who through his anointed One has defeated the power of the devil and the effects of the curse, and how mission through this lens becomes the display and proclamation of the rule of God here and now. Making disciples among all nations is advancing the reign of God by testifying to its coming in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Divine Romance Eph. 5.25-32 – Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [28] In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, [30] because we are members of his body. [31] “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [32] This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. One of the great wonders of Scripture is its deep and profound mysteries which are embedded in the lives and experiences of its great characters. In a real sense this quality of Scripture speaks to its inspiration; great lessons can be gleaned about the nature of God and his relationship with his people from the lessons learned in sync with its chief characters. The example of Adam and Eve, and their union together as man and wife is a symbolic representation of the great unity between Christ and his people, who, amazingly according to this text, is his bride. What an amazing lesson for us today, one which reveals God’s heart for humankind as it has been fulfilled in the Church. Almighty God has determined from the beginning of time to gather from among all peoples a peculiar possession for Jesus of Nazareth. Here this text reveals a profound mystery: at the heart of the universe lies a marvelous cosmic

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Devotion page 173 & 2